1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for providing interactive golf lessons with a professional instructor. The present invention also relates generally to the playback of interactive, multi-participant, multi-media networked sessions, of all types, such as the playback of an interactive web conference, including playback of a saved lesson session. The present invention also provides for the mediation of social interaction between and among various golfers and/or golf professionals.
2. Related Art
Interactive Lessons
Numerous ways for improving an individual's golf game currently exist. Today, most golf instruction is accessed by taking a lesson with a golf instructor, watching an instructional, or reading “self help” books and/or other periodicals. The benefits and shortcomings of each of the three main sources of golf instruction are obvious.
Taking lessons with a golf instructor is the most effective form; however, it is also the least practical. An individual is required to schedule a lesson at a time convenient for himself as well as the golf instructor. Additionally, the individual's choice of golf instructors is limited to the distance the individual is willing to travel to take his lesson. Furthermore, when an individual takes lessons from a golf instructor, he typically does not have the opportunity to write notes, nor is he allowed to video record the session. As a result, important points of the lesson may be forgotten as time passes.
Instructional videos, while easily accessible and relatively affordable, do not offer the same personalization that live instruction offers. While instructional videos address common faults in the golf swing, and offer instruction or drills to fix these faults, not all golfers are afflicted with the same swing faults. Thus, instructional videos are not useful in addressing swing flaws unique to a particular golfer. Additionally, with the number of instructional videos available, it is a challenge for a golfer to choose the appropriate video to correct flaws in their individual game and swing.
Self-help reading material, similarly to instructional videos, does not offer the personalization feature needed to address unique swing flaws of a particular golfer. Additionally, the number of books and periodicals available makes it challenging to choose the most effective one.
Many variations of interactive golf lessons have been disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,001 discloses an instructional aid for enabling and assisting a person to emulate a predetermined movement such as a golf swing including an image/data capturing device for scanning, capturing and storing the image/data signals of the person's golf swing or movement, and a transceiver for transmitting the image/data signals over a communications network to a remote computer. The remote computer contains a database which stores image signals and bio-mechanical data of a number of preselected swings or movements. The instructional aid may be used for analyzing or reporting on particular geographical regions or objects and provides a specialized presentation for development of that region or object from information stored in the computer database. While this design provides a remote instructional aid, this variation, does not disclose web based interactive golf lesson. Furthermore, this variation does not provide real-time instruction from an instructor to a subscriber as instruction is provided from information already stored in the computer database.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,211 discloses a system for improving and teaching decision making skills in a respective sporting activity, specifically golf. The system provides at least one of real or hypothetical situations and includes examples of different actions to be taken in those situations. The user responds to the situation and the actions chosen by the user are reviewable by an expert for evaluation thereof. The responses and evaluations are transmitted via a communication network between at least two personal computers. While this variation discloses features such as real-time professional assistance provided for improving a golf game, it does not disclose capturing video data that actually depicts a situation and transmitting the actual video data to be reviewed by a professional. Without the capturing and transmission of videos, the instructor is not able to utilize visual aids for the purpose of providing instructions. The utilization of visual aids is an essential aspect of the present invention. Furthermore, while multiple users may respond similarly to the real or hypothetical situations including examples of different actions to be taken in certain situations, not all of these users may have similar swings. Each user may have a unique swing fault that is not identifiable by analyzing the responses to hypothetical situations by these users. The present claimed invention captures and transmits videos thus allowing the instructor to utilize video representations of the user's swing for the purpose of analyzing the swing and providing individual personalized instruction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,869 discloses a system and method for interactive communication skill training The system includes a user computer system having a memory, a display device, and input device, a video recording device and an audio device. The system also includes an e-learning web site with skill training software for interactively teaching a skill. The system further includes an expert's computer system. The method for interactive communications skill training includes the steps of accessing the e-learning website by the user, selecting a learning module for a communication skill by the user, interacting with the learning module and recording the user interaction using the video recording device. This variation, however, does not concern real-time video data capture for the purpose of at least one of teaching and improving a user's golfing ability. This variation performs analyses via a computer e-learning website. This system provides a computer analysis of the information provided and automatically produces a lesson based upon stored information. This system does not provide for live interactive personal lessons tailored specifically for a subscriber. Furthermore, this variation does not disclose capturing video data that actually depicts a situation and transmitting the actual video data to be reviewed by a professional. Without the capturing and transmission of videos, the instructor is not able to utilize visual aids for the purpose of providing instructions. The utilization of visual aids is an essential aspect of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,224,387 and 6,517,353 disclose systems for collecting pictures to produce a pictorial tour of a golf course to be distributed over a communication network for the purpose of providing a visual tour of the course. This system is run by an intermediary service bureau that coordinates obtaining the pictures and providing the pictures to the golfers as well as controlling access thereto. This variation, however, only presents still picture visual data and is intended to give the golfer a shot-by-shot view of a golf course.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,802 discloses a hybrid format for representing a video lesson which is transported part in an audio/video file format and part in an identifying format for identify pre-stored audio/video content stored locally with respect to the student, from a first location to a second location across a communication channel includes a first item having a first format type and a second item having a second format type. Even though the format types are different, the patent discloses that the lesson can be played to the student as if it were a single contiguous data item and as such, efficiencies can be obtained in storage and transfer. This patent does not disclose a real-time interactive communication session. Nor does it disclose an interactive lesson session wherein the student can interact in real-time with the instructor asking additional questions, providing in real-time additional audio and/or visual files for review and comment by the instructor. It also does not disclose the transportation of complete non-local audio/video instruction files from a first location associated with the instructor across a communication channel to a second location associated with a student.
U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2004/0191744 mentions electronic training systems configured to allow an instructor to present pre-existing course content to a plurality of students at the same time utilizing audio and/or video receivers and transmitters to enable real-time communication between the instructor and his/her students and between students. Nothing in this publication suggests, discloses or mentions a system or method wherein a student is able to upload an image of a golf swing or other human action for review, analysis and instruction to the student by the instructor.
Improved Session Playback
Conventional computing systems allow users at different locations to participate in the interactive exchange of data, such as audio, video and graphics media data. Such data may include Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) related media data, as well as, non-media data. Generally the data from various sources and in various formats are routed to one or more servers for distribution to all participants during a session. The various streams of data may also be captured and retained for playback. A significant requirement of playback is that the various data be played back in an apparently synchronized fashion so as to replicate the experience of the original session or parts thereof. Absent apparent synchronization, for example, the observer could hear a person announce a certain action shown on the video playback after the action has already taken place.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,674,459 discloses a system and process to create a viewable standard format post conference recording of a network conference after the completion of an interactive teleconference. The separate raw data streams that are captured during the course of the teleconference, are not in a format for playback, but must be processed into a viewable format. The post-conference processing postpones transcribing tasks into a viewable format recording, until after the conference. Moreover, it does not disclose or address the integration of telephone data capture during the live conference.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,464,137 discloses a system for recording a teleconference session at the participant's (client's) computer during the progress of the session and for post-conference editing of the recorded file. It does not disclose or address the integration of telephone data capture during the live conference.